Fairfax Digital’s residential property search website Domain.com.au has taken on a new face.
And according General Manager of Fairfax Digital: Online Real Estate, Sam Plowman the new look Domain was brought on by extensive research that found simplicity is the answer people are seeking out of property search engines.
“Before re-launching, we wanted to ensure that we understood our users’ needs when it came to searching for property. We wanted to provide an easy search experience for them,” Plowman told Australian Property Journal.
“Property searchers appreciate the online medium and expect their online search experience to shortcut their search through a simple, uncluttered but intelligent website.”
The survey found that 46% of respondents stated that having all the information needed in one place would make the property search experience easier for them while 60% of property searchers stated that property web sites are the most helpful and trustworthy source of property information.
“Buyers, investors and renters expect a property website to be a one-stop shop for property searching. They want to be taken on a visual journey and see everything at once rather than travel from property to property to find their ideal home, visit many different agents or spend hours researching all the logistics involved,” Plowman added.
The updated domain.com.au website has a variety of new and enhanced features to ensure an easier experience for the property searcher. Not only has domain.com.au improved areas of its site including the ‘News and finance’ section, but it has also introduced extra features to help assist with the property searching process.
The new ‘Know your neighbourhood’ feature enlists the help of domain.com.au stablemate, Australian Property Monitors, in a feature that provides useful property sales and demographic data on suburbs throughout Australia.
Also, the new ‘My domain’ feature helps cut the property searching time by saving previous searches and the new ‘Have you considered’ elements recommends other properties based on previous searches.
The survey results also saw that the online medium itself has proved popular amongst property searchers. 91% of property searchers use online as their first point of contact with the property market when searching, making the internet a critical part of the seeking process along with newspapers and real estate agent contact.
“We have taken all the opinions of our users and used them to recreate and freshen up our website. They said they wanted a location-based search, we gave them a location-based search, they said they wanted brighter colours, we’ve brightened our main green colour and they said they wanted more icons and images and this is what we’ve incorporated into our new look website.”
Several months ago, Fairfax Digital launched Domain Commercial, which is also doing very well when it comes to commercial property.
Australian Property Journal. is a news partner of Domain Commercial.
By Nelson Yap
